AMN Healthcare Services Earnings Preview

AMN Healthcare Services (NYS: AHS) will look to avoid missing estimates when its earnings are released. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, August 4. AMN Healthcare Services is a health-care staffing company that recruits and places physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals nationally and internationally on a temporary or permanent basis at health-care facilities throughout the U.S.

What analysts say:

Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on AMN Healthcare Services with five of seven analysts rating it hold. Analysts don't like AMN Healthcare Services as much as competitor On Assignment overall. Three out of three analysts rate On Assignment a buy compared to one of seven for AMN Healthcare Services. AMN Healthcare Services' rating hasn't changed over the past three months.

Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $236.3 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 58.3% from the year-ago quarter.

Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.03 per share. Estimates range from $0.02 to $0.04.

What our community says:CAPS All Stars are solidly backing the stock, with 97.2% granting it an "outperform" rating. The community at large backs the All Stars, with 95.6% giving it a rating of "outperform." Fools are keen on AMN Healthcare Services, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 64 posts in the past 30 days. Even with a robust four out of five stars, AMN Healthcare Services' CAPS rating falls a little short of the community's upbeat outlook.

Management:Revenue has now gone up for three straight quarters.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters: